(6-2-10) With just 31 days to go until the Prefontaine Classic on July 3rd, no fewer than 41 Olympic or World Championships gold medalists have committed to the meet, its first as a member of the prestigious new IAAF Diamond League series [www.diamondleague.com].
"The fields are by far the strongest in the meet's 35-year history," says meet director Tom Jordan. "Unless fans have been fortunate enough to attend an Olympic Games, they will see more gold medalists at this year’s Pre Classic than at any other meet ever held in the United States."
Taking as an example the short sprints, one of the most potent women's 100-meter fields ever assembled will face off at Hayward Field on the July 4th weekend. Olympic and World Champion Shelly-Ann Fraser heads a list that includes all three medalists from last summer's Berlin World Championships—Kerron Stewart of Jamaica (silver) and Carmelita Jeter the U.S.(bronze)—plus Beijing Olympic silver medalist Sherone Simpson and 200-meter Olympic gold medalist and 2010 World Indoor 60-meter champion Veronica Campbell-Brown. The Prefontaine Classic will be one of the few times this year that the Big Four will go head-to-head.
The men's 200 meters is similarly loaded, with American record holder and 2007 double World Champion Tyson Gay meeting Berlin silver medalist Alonso Edward of Panama, Beijing bronze medalist Walter Dix, Beijing 100-meter silver medalist Richard Thompson, and the amazing Shawn Crawford, Olympic champion at 200 in 2004, and silver medalist in Beijing in 2008.
The 2010 NIKE Prefontaine Classic will be shown live on NBC from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. PT, and to an international television audience numbering in the millions. A 14th consecutive sell-out is anticipated, as ticket sales are well ahead of any previous year. Tickets may be purchased from www.goducks.com or by calling 1-800-WEBFOOT.
